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ATF on the chopping block: Trump’s DOGE team moves to gut gun regulations, restore Second Amendment rights

By ljdevon // 2025-07-02

As the Democrat's war on gun owners continues to unravel, a bold new initiative from President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is poised to dismantle decades of unconstitutional ATF overreach. The bureau, once a mundane tax-collecting agency, has morphed into an armed enforcement wing targeting lawful gun owners under the guise of "public safety." Now, Trump’s DOGE is fighting back—slashing regulations, defanging bureaucrats, and restoring the constitutional right to bear arms without oppressive federal interference. Key points:

• The DOGE team, led by ATF General Counsel Robert Leider, aims to revise or eliminate up to 50 firearm regulations, with a symbolic deadline of July 4.
• Proposed changes include simplifying background check forms, reducing ATF’s surveillance of gun dealers, and overturning Biden-era rules like the “arm brace” ban.
• Critics claim loosening restrictions will empower criminals, but supporters argue it corrects decades of agency mission creep, protecting law-abiding citizens from bureaucratic harassment.
• The Trump administration has already moved to cut ATF’s inspector workforce by two-thirds, with some Republicans pushing to abolish the agency entirely.

From tax collectors to armed enforcers: The ATF’s disturbing evolution

What began as a Depression-era tax bureau under the Treasury Department has metastasized into a rogue enforcement agency with a history of lethal overreach—from Ruby Ridge to Waco. The ATF’s expansion accelerated under Biden, weaponizing minor paperwork errors to shutter gun stores and pushing arbitrary rules like reclassifying pistol braces as illegal under the National Firearms Act. DOGE’s crackdown reverses this trend, rejecting the ATF’s self-appointed role as legislator, judge, and enforcer. “The Constitution empowers Congress to write laws, not unaccountable bureaucrats,” a DOGE insider told The Washington Post. By revoking Biden’s import bans, redundant background checks, and red-flag programs, DOGE aims to refocus the agency on prosecuting violent criminals—not harassing dealers over clerical errors. Central to DOGE’s mission is ending the ATF’s covert gun registry—a longstanding fear of Second Amendment advocates. Though federal law bars a national database, the ATF’s National Tracing Center has exploited loopholes, digitizing millions of records from defunct dealers. Leaked documents reveal the agency traced 4.2 million firearms in 2022 alone, often without criminal investigations. Under DOGE’s plan, digitized records would be purged, and background checks streamlined by consolidating repetitive questions on mental health, drug use, and military history into a single prompt. The revised Form 4473 would shrink from seven pages to three, cutting bureaucratic hurdles for lawful buyers while maintaining felony prohibitions.

Biden’s failed war on gun owners

The Biden administration’s war on gun owners intensified between 2021-2024, with aggressive policies targeting lawful firearm sales under the guise of "gun safety." The ATF’s new "zero tolerance" policy, enacted in 2021, resulted in hundreds of Federal Firearms License (FFL) revocations—often for minor clerical errors—while actual violent crime surged. Biden’s DOJ pushed expanded background checks and sought to redefine private sellers as dealers under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). However, multiple courts blocked these overreaches. In Mock v. Garland (2023), a federal judge struck down ATF restrictions on pistol braces, exposing Biden’s abuse of regulatory power. The administration’s failure was further exposed when the FBI’s own data showed that armed citizens stopped more crimes than Biden’s new rules prevented. Democrats’ push for an "assault weapons" ban stalled in Congress, while states like Texas and Florida expanded constitutional carry—directly countering Biden’s agenda. Even Biden’s attempt to pressure banks into defunding gun dealers backfired, as GOP-led states passed laws protecting firearm businesses from financial discrimination. Despite the ATF’s harassment of FFLs, shootings in Democrat-run cities like Chicago and Baltimore continued to rise, proving that targeting legal gun owners does nothing to stop crime. Biden’s 11-15% drop in FFLs (per the ATF’s own data) only fueled the black market, while raids on law-abiding dealers—like the infamous 2022 raid on Tom’s Gun Depot—generated public backlash without convicting a single violent felon. Meanwhile, soft-on-crime policies like reduced bail for gun offenders (as seen in New York) undermined trust in Democrat-led "gun control." The administration’s most glaring contradiction? Pushing felony charges for paperwork errors while slashing penalties for actual firearm crimes—highlighting this isn't about safety, but control. Now it's time for DOGE to take a jackhammer to the ATF's power and control. Sources include: YourNews.com WashingtonPost.com AmericasFirstFreedom.org Gizmodo.com

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